Tampa, FL – It took until the wee morning hours of Monday, but Vinny Censabella is a Pinktober Poker Open champion following a win in the series-headlining $565 buy-in, $200,000 guarantee. The title came after a long Day 2 that saw Censabella take the top spot following a five-way chop just before 3am. As chip leader, Censabella earned the lion’s share of the prize pool — a $39,102 payout — along with the property’s token guitar trophy.

Officially recognized as Event 5 of the first-ever series, the Pinktober Poker Open headliner drew 505 entries easily surpassing the $200,000 guarantee. Censabella was among a tough crew of talent that included John Dolan, Justin Zaki and Jonthan Hilton — all of whom finished in the money. Unfazed, Censabella took the chip lead midway through the day and never looked back riding it all the way to short-handed play.

Joining Censabella in the chop was Tampa regular Tony March who took home $20,560 for his performance. A portion of all tournament buy-ins already went toward the American Cancer Society, but March doubled down donating all of his winnings to his charity, the Pay it Backward Foundation.

The Pinktober Poker Open kicked off October 6th and ran all the way through Sunday’s $565 final table. In that time, more than $11,000 was raised for charity and Censabella co-headlined the event as the standout champion. Censabella is a 26-year-old project engineer from Winter Springs, Florida. He has a handful of recorded cashes both here in Tampa and in Hollywood, but his winnings are modest — less than $10,000. The Pinktober Poker Open win marks his largest and most notable poker accomplishment to day.

Stay tuned as the Seminole Hard Rock Tampa looks to run it back in October 2019!